It was a love-fest when critics and the “Fringe” folks met for a final, going away, last season, thank-you-very-much press conference.

TV maestro J.J. Abrams loomed over the TCA (Television Critics Association) press conference, on a big-screen, to talk about the fifth and final season of “Fringe,” coming this fall on Fox. Fair to say critics don’t have much power, but now and then we can save or extend the life of a show. Abrams suggested “Fringe” was one of those times.

Olivia Dunham and Peter Bishop will only be around for 13 more episodes. With only three days of shooting behind them, Anna Torv and Joshua Jackson talked about their characters, carefully avoiding spoilers, and lauding colleague John Noble — who, many critics agree, really should have gotten an Emmy nomination.

Joanne Ostrow has been watching TV since before "reality" required quotation marks. "Hill Street Blues" was life-changing. If Dickens, Twain or Agatha Christie were alive today, they'd be writing for television. And proud of it.